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A Further Perspective

Decent Exposure

By on 11.11.11 @ 6:07AM

Meet the hero of Penn State.

A man won my heart this week and helped to save my soul. Just when I was in danger of losing hope in humanity, being dragged through the dregs of aberrant, predatory behavior in the Penn State saga, this gent taught me that it is possible to preserve decency. His name is James “Jim” Durant and I salute him today. Folks like him made America great and I only pray we can find enough of his kind to sustain us in the future.

The story from Penn State is a horror show, a menagerie, a bizarrerie, a grotesquerie, but it has been encapsulated in a supremely readable form by the recorder of Grand Jury proceedings in Pennsylvania. There are a lot of gritty details which need not concern us, but we need to recognize the key elements of the corruption which reigned here for much too long.

The football programs at the major universities are always treasured by students, alumni and the residents of the nearby towns and cities. This is much more true of those colleges where a degree of competitive success has been consistently achieved over a period of years. These include schools like Ohio State, Nebraska, Alabama, Louisiana State (LSU) and Penn State.

The latter school always provided fodder for punsters, who were wont to say that the players are roughnecks who might otherwise belong in the state pen. As it turns out, it is the school administration which may convene its next session in a prison cell. It was they, ostensibly purveyors of instruction, who wreaked destruction upon impressionable children. Some sinned by commission, some by omission, some by looking away, some by looking past, some to satisfy their appetites and some to protect their positions.

The legendary presence in the Penn State locker room is Coach Joseph Paterno, known as Joe Pa, today an octogenarian after six decades on the job. Many of his disciples went on to succeed at professional football but many more went on to succeed in other walks of life. Ask any one of them and they will tell you that the lessons of passion and discipline they learned from the coach was integral to their development of strong character.

Joe had a sidekick named Sandusky, who was long heralded as the potential successor to the old man. In 1998, a complaint was filed with the Campus Police accusing Sandusky of pedophilia. In 1999, he was relieved of his duties. They tell us, do the powers that were, that the second event was not precipitated by the first, that they did not believe the complaint to have involved actual intercourse with 10-year-old boys, merely inappropriate familiarity in the shower stalls.

The Grand Jury says they are lying and indicts them as perjurers. These administrators knew all along that Sandusky had been witnessed in the act by a very reliable graduate assistant coach. They knew that this man was using the panache of his access to the mythos of the Penn State team to lure young boys, under the pretense of mentoring them, into being physically violated and morally compromised. Their cowardice and their addiction to privilege led these administrators, from the College President on down, to exercise their oversight with a blind eye.

Reading the Grand Jury report brought me to tears, to heartache and to a weighty pall of hopelessness. Here were all these people who were looked up to by the society, who lived their daily lives amid the trappings of fame and wealth, who cloaked themselves in the mantles of education and philanthropy, who were given the chance to lead BIGGER lives than their peers. Instead they chose to be small, to be servants of impulse, governed by whim and appetite and sensation, eschewing nobility and achievement and transcendence.

But just as I was ready to “abandon hope, ye who enter here” the Grand Jury report, in its very last pages, introduced me to Jim Durant. A simple, solid American, a veteran of the Korean War, who went to clean the shower room and saw an evil middle-aged man having sex with a 10-year-old boy. He became so distraught, the report says, that the rest of the custodial staff feared he would have a heart attack on the spot. Here is what he said: “I was in the Korean War, I saw people with their bodies blown up dying all around me… but I never saw something this bad in all my life.”

You see, my friends, Jim Durant is a real teacher and we should be proud if we can earn a degree in his school. This is how a human being should think and act, and this is what it ought to mean to be an American. The hard knocks in his life, the devastation of war, the demanding work ethic of less-skilled labor, did not cost him his innocence. He still knows evil when he sees it and he cannot be deterred. He is the hero of Penn State.

About the Author

Jay D. Homnick, commentator and humorist, is a frequent contributor to The American Spectator. He also writes for Human Events. Here he speaks at the Rally for Religious Freedom in Miami on June 8, 2012.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (135) |

Appleby| 11.11.11 @ 6:42AM

God bless Jim Durant -- and protect him from the hordes of those who believe that it is worth the torture of children to have a winning Bawl Team.

And may He use this terrible situation to make an impression on that class of anti-Catholic bigots who would have us believe that the only time such things ever happened was during the 1950s and 1960s in the Catholic church.

Penn State Faculty Member| 11.11.11 @ 9:03AM

If hyper-masculine football were not the All American Religion and the coaches Gods on Earth, then perhaps Sandusky, family man with six children and devout Christian, would have been convicted of pedophilia and sent to jail years ago.

Here in Pennsylvania and all over the U.S., for that matter, Super Bowl Sunday trumps Christmas Day any day. Gawd bless our football team and its coaches.

GOOOOOOOO Penn State Nittany Lions.

And Beaver Stadium is our Cathedral of Worship!

I invite all of you, in the Holy name of Football, to Come and Worship with us sometimes.

GOOOOOOO Penn State!

Rust Belt Ronnie| 11.11.11 @ 10:22AM

Hey PSFM,
Do you by any chance have a NAMBLA Chapter peopled by your colleagues that helped enable this?

Moe Blotz| 11.13.11 @ 10:37AM

NAMBLA is a misnomer, as no love is involved in what the members advocate. Men Buggering Boys would be simpler and to the point.

Tina B| 11.11.11 @ 10:35AM

Penn Stater:
How do you come to call Sandusky a "devout Christian?" Church goer, maybe. . . youth director/sunday school teacher, Bible carrier, get on your knees and pretend to prayer, phony religionist, but NOT a devout Christian.

If you are really a fellow faculty member of Papa Joe's you might called his former assistant an 'allegedly' devout . . . or 'known as' a devout, but please don't give the rest of us truly devoted or devout Christ followers, sinners that we all are, a bad name.

I am not judging but stating a fact that a committed pedophile such as he is could not also be a committed Christian. Hope I don't see him called that as I read down through these responses. You can hide behind any label but it doesn't make it true.

Chalkdust| 11.11.11 @ 10:58AM

Mr. PSFM... Tongue in cheek is the wrong (stupid?) choice here. As much as you would like it, the football budget is not going to the ethics department, lord knows they could use it.
What we would expect from a faculty member of Penn State University is; "I am so outraged by the inaction of my employer, my letter of resignation is in the mail as we speak". Otherwise you're just another liberal asshole that's part of the problem.

GatoRay57| 11.11.11 @ 12:55PM

Well said, Chalky. The libutard environment on too many campuses is highly accepting of this behavoir as just another "lifestyle choice"

I'll be interested to learn just how widespread this is revealed to be.

skip| 11.11.11 @ 7:21PM

Michael 'Penn State Faculty Member' Mann,

Aren't you pushing your luck a little?

Ironic that disgraced athletic faculty and administrators associated with the football program are terminated immediately upon public exposure, but disgraced academic faculty and administrators associated with the science department are not even after public exposure.

skip| 11.12.11 @ 2:27PM

Ironic also that this comes to light immediately after Paterno becomes the all time leader in division I wins.

doolittle| 11.13.11 @ 10:20AM

How can anyone describe Sandusky as a devout Christian? And how do you suppose "Joe Pa" who is now "praying for the victims" would have reacted had it been one of HIS grandkids who'd been a victim of such a crime? Shame on the whole bunch!

Lee Ghume| 11.13.11 @ 10:43AM

Penn State could use the publicity to recruit the growing LGBT movement to the campi in Happy Valley and other parts of PA. Perhaps they could open a campus in the Gay Bay on the left coast. Bum bandits would flock to Penn State and their phart football program. "Come in our end zone".

Bob K.| 11.11.11 @ 11:37AM

Anybody who reads this Grand Jury report will see that the alleged perpetrator was investigated for incidents of this nature as a result of complaints brought by various individuals well back into the 1990's by the Campus Police.

It is not credible to believe that the Administration of the College was not aware that this problem went back that far. The Campus Police has over 200 members at Penn State. The District Attorney of Centre County investigated an allegation around that time and he refused to bring charges. See page 19 of the report,

This particular incident was reported, this time by the Sports Department, and still the Administration did not follow up. Finally, in 2011, 9 years later a Grand Jury is convened and the Media, in an attempt to protect the Educational Establishment of Penn State, creates a frenzy placing the blame for this on the Football Coach and his staff.

And Mr. Homnick aids and abets the Media in this frenzy.

Shame on you Sir!

Ed| 11.11.11 @ 3:08PM

I have taught at colleges and universities for some time, and I have this piece of advice for students and their parents...

If you are ever a victim of a serious crime, don't call the campus police. Campus cops perform a valuable service in protecting people and property, but they are not detectives or criminal investigators, and they are way out of their league in comparison to your local police or sheriff's department. Campus cops are also beholden to campus administrators, who have a built-in bias to under report crimes on campus.

So, if the stuff really hits the fan, call 911 and let the local law enforcement agencies take charge.

Mark30339| 11.11.11 @ 11:35PM

Excellent comment, and good advice. Still, it looks like State College, PA's regular police and prosecutors were highly reluctant to go to war with one of PSU's icons. And it sure looks like Joe Pa WELCOMED the 1998 no prosecute decision and further welcomed the 2002 decision that the incident would be remembered as inconclusive "horsing around." An assistant coach scumbag and a few abused children would NOT be permitted to cripple the reputation of PSU or Joe's football program. Trees may have fallen in the woods, but Joe was determined that they made no sound. This Machiavellian strategy is worthy of a mob godfather, not a revered icon of integrity.

Mac Jehoff| 11.13.11 @ 10:46AM

You can take the Wop out of Brooklyn, but you can't take Brooklyn out of the Wop?

Slacker| 11.11.11 @ 4:17PM

No, shame on you Bob.

Paterno has been exposed as an immoral degenerate douche bag. The fact that it took 9 years to expose him a the friend and enabler of a pedophile is irrelevant. He will live out the rest of his miserable life in disgrace, which is too good of a fate.

If Paterno had any decency left in his putrid soul he would have already withdrawn to a private spot with a bottle of whiskey and a revolver.

There will be no vindication for Paterno or Penn State.

Bob K.| 11.11.11 @ 4:44PM

Here is something to read Slacker.

It lays out Patern0's duties in this case and yours too, if you should run into a similar problem some day.

http://thatlawyerdude.blogspot.....o-why.html

missbosslady| 11.11.11 @ 6:43PM

Bob,

I followed your link and, as more than one commentor pointed out, there is a difference between Paterno meeting a legal obligation or a moral obligation.

I believe that most here are referring to Paterno's moral obligation. Personally, I don't really care about any other aspect of the story.

If a society has no morals what good is the law?

Slacker| 11.11.11 @ 7:42PM

I don’t buy it. Paterno failed as a leader and will live out his few remaining years in shame.

If he was fired without cause, he can fight that. Should be interesting.

The lawyer is right about one thing. People don’t care about the criminal investigation aspect. Pedophilia is a special circumstance.

In a perfect world old Joe would go to prison and the inmates could administer final justice.

Paterno screwed up bad. Penn State is clearly a screwed up place. Apparently so are their fans.

carnot| 11.12.11 @ 5:04PM

wellllll....why should anyone care when the Obama administration has a "hung out by the schoolyard" czar on staff?

only partly tongue in cheek. there is a point at which the growing double standard in our society undercuts ALL proprieties.

PCC| 11.11.11 @ 6:57PM

Who the hell is Jim Durant? No one by that name is mentioned in the Grand Jury proceedings. Do you mean Jim Calhoun?

This boneheaded mistake is emblematic of the complete ridiculousness of the entire article.

A man who witnessed a sex crime being perpetrated on a minor and does nothing about it is a hero? Reports nothing to the police because he and his buddies are afraid to lose their part-time janitorial jobs?

A hero? Give me a break!

Mike Hawk| 11.12.11 @ 9:15AM

There are no heroes in this. The word is being perverted just as the incident is perverse. Heroism used to have a different meaning. There is cowardice invoved in all this, no heroics.

W| 11.12.11 @ 1:04PM

I read it twice and did not find a Durant. Whatever his name, crying does not make him a hero. If he saw an adult male having sex with a young boy he should have stopped it there and called the police. The grad student says he saw an adult male having anal sex with a ten year old boy. He should have stopped it and called the police. Instead he calls his father.
The grad student told Paterno, Paterno told his boss the Athletic Director who told the President. And nobody called the police. The AD and President deny there were told there was anal sex, they say it was "horsing around."
The police investigated Sandusky in 1998 but the District Attorney did not file charges. That should be investigated. Maybe that is the reason Paterno told Sandusky in 1999 he would not be the head coach, no pun intended.
Everybody here failed, but the grad student and the janitor witnessed a crime and did not intervene to protect the young boy each saw being molested. That is the worst crime here.

carnot| 11.12.11 @ 5:04PM

bingo! my first thought also. what did you DO about ti?

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 11.11.11 @ 6:58AM

It's a liberal institution and they covered up the activities of a gay individual who was also a pedophile.

Typical liberalism vis a vis Clinton. Don't ask, Don't tell.

donserge| 11.11.11 @ 7:59AM

I've been waiting for someone to point out the liberalism of Penn State. This school stands alongside UC Berkeley, U Mass and many others as bastions of liberal thought and the sheer hypocrisy that goes with it. One other thought; liberals have been trying get rid of Paterno for quite a while...they finally did.

Andrea| 11.11.11 @ 9:49AM

Gay? What do you mean?

Sandusky was gay? I don't think so.

Sandusky is one of many straight men who are attracted to children, male and female, so to acuse him of being gay is slanderous to gay people everywhere. But that's exactly what you intended. You want to slander gay people, to lump them all together as child molesters. Sing your old song, old man.

But before you sing it too loudly, I suggest you do a little research on pedophilia.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 11.11.11 @ 10:12AM

If he wasn't gay he was doing a mighty good imitation of a gay pedophile. As far as research it isn't needed. The facts speak for themselves unless you're a liberal. Then you need to find some arcane thesis to back up your view of the world.

josephine| 11.11.11 @ 10:35PM

Sandusky was a switch-hitter.

missbosslady| 11.11.11 @ 10:28AM

Sorry Andrea, but there are no female victims in this vile story. Sandusky preyed on boys, and boys alone. He is a deviant in every sense of the word.

Your attempts to defend degeneracy probably won't get very far here.

Red Ryder| 11.11.11 @ 2:53PM

You need to remember Kevin Jennings, Obama's Safe Schools Czar until recently. He founded GLSEN, the national homosexual group that targets children in schools.

skip| 11.12.11 @ 10:53AM

Gay? What Do you mean?

Abominable detestable degenerate deviant perverted sexuality is gay? I don't think so.

Homosexuals are one of many types of immoral people who engage in abominable detestable degenerate deviant perverted sexuality, including pedophiles and necrophiles and incestophiles and beastialophiles, so to describe them as being gay is disparaging and malicious to what is gay. But that is exactly what to did. You maliciously disparage what is gay, cheerfulness and lightheartedness and liveliness and brightness, descriptions of positive character you lump with negative immoral sexual behavior. Don't sing that song, you stupid lying idiot, it is so off key it cannot even be characterized as music.

And after you shut up, you need to do a lot of research on morality.

Patrick| 11.12.11 @ 3:32PM

Where were the little girls? Oh, there were none. This was man on boy, and exclusively man on boy.

We've seen the stats with the Church Scandal. The vast majority of the abuse is man on boy. Not man on boy or girl or man on girl, but exclusively man on boy.

Defending your own kink is one thing, but don't think that your rainbow compatriots are all, each and every one, pure as the driven snow.

CAPTAIN OBVIOUS| 11.18.11 @ 12:37PM

Patrick, I think you completely missed the point Skip was making if you think he was defending rainbow compatriots as you call them. It seems to me he does not accept that homosexuals can hijack words like 'gay' and 'rainbow' in order to hide their true immorality without being called out on it?

Mike Hawk| 11.12.11 @ 1:06PM

Sandusky wasn't straight. Buggery is perversion especially with boys. I suppose if it is men instead, then in your mind it is OK. Sorry, but it is perverted any way you describe it.

Granny Jan| 11.11.11 @ 7:24AM

Sorry no heros. Jim was a temporary employee who only told the other janitors who worried about their jobs. We'll never know his side because he suffers from dementia.

RustyG| 11.11.11 @ 7:49AM

I read the stomach churning Grand Jury report too. Jim's reaction also made an impression on me. I guess I'll have to read it again, because I thought it said that Jim did the same thing that the Grad Asst. and Paterno did which is just report it to their superior. If the Grad Asst. that witnessed Sandusky with another victim in the shower said it was the most disturbing thing he'd ever seen and thought he'd have a heart attack is he a hero too?

Brian Mc| 11.11.11 @ 2:45PM

I wonder what his reaction would have been if it had been his son being sodomized. If I had come around the corner of a gym shower and saw what he saw I would have snapped and woke up in prison for manslaughter.

rn| 11.12.11 @ 12:31AM

The only acceptable reaction: Sandusky's skull should have been obliterated against a wall. (tile walls are perfect for crushing craniums)

Failing that -- any man coming around the corner or peeking around the corner -- isn't a man.

That is the only "reaction" that is acceptable.

Patrick| 11.12.11 @ 3:37PM

I can't say that I would kill. Limb destruction and spinal cord injuries should prevent a recurrence however.

Deborah D | 11.13.11 @ 7:36AM

My reaction as a woman would have been to go into that disgusting place yelling and screaming and kicking the bast*** who was hurting that child. Good grief -- what's with the men in this entire story? You can be upset and still DO something!

Gary B| 11.11.11 @ 7:55AM

He did something that's a rarity nowadays... he did the right thing. It's amazing how many people in positions of responsibility did not behave responsibly. But, as Bill Hussein O'Stalin said, that's about all we can expect from our liberal "friends." And, there is no doubt, Clinton lowered moral standards across our great land, especially among our youth when he lead the chorus of ridicule of the woman he victimized, as he attempted to legitimize his behavior. What a mess...

obadiah| 11.11.11 @ 8:22AM

once we get rid of the liberals, this kind of thing will never happen again

Gary B| 11.11.11 @ 9:02AM

Well, once we get rid of liberals, maybe man/boy atrocities won't be taught in our schools and, maybe, every peversion imaginable won't be on display in some sort of "pride" parade down Main Street.

Bill| 11.11.11 @ 9:14AM

Well, he was a cut above the perp, all right. Did he act to protect the child by attacking the perp? Did he say anything to the guy? Did he report the incident to school authorities? Yes, his response of disgust and shock was appropriate, but the event called for something more than disgust and shock.

rd| 11.12.11 @ 12:37AM

Correct, Bill. I keep failing to read of action. Real action.

Going and informing someone else is not action.

Action is decisive. Now! This second. Immediate. Action is something physical/action is not "telling." It is slamming the perp up against a wall, kicking his feet out from underneath him, grabbing the kid(s) and hustling the kid or kids out of there to safety, to parents or guardians.

Screaming for people to seal the building and calling 911 imploring the cops to apprehend the perp NOW!

Doctor Right| 11.11.11 @ 8:00AM

Nothing against Mr. Durante, but I'm a little confused by this article.

What exactly did Mr. Durante do to earn "Hero" status?

He saw something horrible, and he recognized it as horrible.

So what???

Again, nothing against Mr. Durante, but how dis this incident impact the outcome of these events??

canuckistani| 11.11.11 @ 8:19AM

It doesn't. Cops weren't called and Sandusky was not arrested.

Nine years they knew and they did nothing.

The whole staff implicated here should be tossed and stripped of school protections, just as the young boys were left unprotected.

Cpm| 11.11.11 @ 4:55PM

He would have been a hero if, after interupting Sandusky in the act, he had beat him senseless with a mop handle.

Weird article conclusion| 11.12.11 @ 12:41AM

Right and Jim D. -- from what we read here -- did nothing of the sort. Placing in a report some weepy tripe about it being worse than anything he saw in Korea is pure farce. (he's covering his, well, you know what with that statement)

This is lame. Jim D. ain't no hero. Sounds like he's a cog in the problem.

Indy| 11.11.11 @ 8:28AM

To witness something like this and not intervene to stop the act and try to protect the child is not something I can comprehend. If you cannot find the courage to intervene immediately, at least get to the nearest phone and call the police. I do not mean to come across as judgmental doing the right thing is not always easy.

c. j. acworth| 11.11.11 @ 8:41AM

I agree, Indy. I like to think that if I had been the one to come upon that horrid crime, the first thing I would do after recovering from my shock would be to rush in and pound the rapist to a bloody, pulpy mess. Then call the cops.

Kingofthenet| 11.11.11 @ 9:06AM

Mike McCoward STILL working thier is a travisty, 28yo 6'4" 240lb Quaterback doesn't stop a 'old man' from raping a 10yo boy?

Indy| 11.11.11 @ 11:10AM

After reading the GJ report, I have so many questions about those involved, the father of the grad student disgusts me, he should have told him to immediately call the police.

With today being Veterans Day, I think of all of my family members who have proudly served but after learning about the janitor, I especially think about my Father-in-Law, a Korean War Veteran and there is no doubt in my mind what he would have done. He would have run at full force and pounded Sandusky before calling police. My spouse also would do the same.

The mother of Victim #6 is the parent I admire, she knew something was wrong when her son came home with wet hair and learned he had showered with the coach, she reported the incident to University Police and confronted the coach on the phone (she gave police permission to listen in on the converstaion), the case was closed and no charges filed. My hunch is she will now sue Penn State.

All of the Penn State rioters should read this report.

I hope the victims get the help they need. They were supposed to get help from the Second Mile Program instead they were sexually abused, how tragic.

Dave Williams| 11.11.11 @ 1:38PM

....what c.j. said, yeah. "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." The fact that this Sandusky creep continues to breathe is absolutely stomach-turning...

missbosslady| 11.11.11 @ 10:55AM

I agree! I don't get this article. This guy witnesses a crime, as did others, and did absolutely nothing to stop it during its commission? Really!?!

To read this article one would believe that the definition of heroism has now been reduced to being very "distraught", this is very strange indeed, especially considering that today is Veteran's Day.

I think our military men and women might quibble with the author's definition of heroism.

Disgusting.

I have always believed that if one is a witness to such acts, then it is incumbent on them to intercede in whatever way possible, first to try to end the attack and second to see it through to reporting to the police. Anything less is an abbrogation of one's responsibility to their fellow man.

I'm a tiny little woman and I have the sad experience of witnessing crime. I assure you that I did a bit more than feel distraught. Without thinking, as there was nothing to think about, I launched myself into the situation. The need to act was instinctive and perhaps borne from the hope that should I one day be the victim of crime that my fellow citizens might rush to my aid.

Sadly, I have found myself the witness on several occassions. Each and every time I did what I could to interrupt the attack and summoned the police and on those occassions when it was needed went to court to see things through.

I have never once considered myself a hero for doing so, only that it was my duty as a human being.

This story is just one more sad commentary on the deterioration of our society, where the only thing needed for evil to flourish is the failure of good men to act.

This article would have us believe that this is what we have been reduced to; heralding the heroism of the truly distraught.

Mr. Sandusky should consider himself lucky that this little old gal wasn't the one that found him. I can assure you that things would have gone quite differently.

Indy| 11.11.11 @ 12:25PM

I am right there with you, your post is spot on.

MikeJDP| 11.11.11 @ 1:17PM

Whoa... you sound awesome...

rn| 11.12.11 @ 1:36AM

MissBossLady, all your comments here today are right on target. Thank you.

I see nothing that tells me that the janitor did anything heroic. In fact, I see cowardice.

You are right; being an adult means taking proper action -- decisive action right there and then.

MBL, I submit your name to replace Jay Homnick. Homnick doesn't have a clue.

Drew| 11.11.11 @ 1:22PM

Doing the right thing should always be easy. No thinking just a natural instinct period! I read the report, and in every case had I been a witness to any of these molestations or even had a suspicion, I would have intervened. You have every right to be judgmental. If you can't even have hope that your fellow citizens would do the right thing to protect the children then we are truly lost.

Bob Grant| 11.11.11 @ 9:00AM

This is fast becoming one of the most bizarre stories in my life.

Sure, the animal Sandusky is your garden-variety predator who soon will be tossed aside like yesterday's garbage but the actions of, not one or two people, but perhaps several dozens of people to this activity is breathtaking.

So many people couldn't POSSIBLY risk going to jail and destroying and entire football program just to protect one lone child molester and potential fallout when it became public knowledge. That defies logic.

There MUST be more to the story. As distasteful as it may be, the possibility of more than one child molester inside the program logically explains the seemingly massive cover up.

As far as Mr. Durant, It's good of him to be distraught at what he saw but at that point he should have realized that by seeing what he did he's just as involved in the incident as the perpetrator and victim. Telling a fellow co-worker doesn't cut it.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 11.11.11 @ 9:22AM

That's what I thought. There must be more or it doesn't make sense why so many would risk so much.

Bob K.| 11.11.11 @ 11:07AM

What has largely been overlooked and not discussed is that the accused here was, in addition to being a coach on the football team, a member of the College Faculty, an Assistant Professor, I believe, and on the tenure track when he took early retirement many years before this incident.

He is supposed to have been investigated prior to this 2002 incident by the Campus Police (which numbers 200 individuals) for an earlier incident of this nature and the Center County District Attorney, Ray Gricar, chose not to bring charges.

This District Attorney "went missing" in 2005 under mysterious circumstances. You can find his name on page 19 of the Grand Jury Report linked in the above article. And googleing his name will bring up articles on his disappearance. His computer was found with it's hard drive missing and his other computers were found to have been used to find out how to disable hard drives.

missbosslady| 11.11.11 @ 11:11AM

You are correct Bob.

In fact, I believe that it was just this week, or very recently, that the missing District Attorney was prounonced Legally Dead.

Kingofthenet| 11.11.11 @ 9:09AM

OK, Jerry you can have the Defensive coordinator position, but I don't want you anywhere near my 'Tight Ends'.

Naturalborn Texicanette| 11.11.11 @ 9:12AM

Indy...

You hit the nail right on the head. There is NO EXCUSE for not taking action when a child is being harmed.

Paterno fumbled the ball, and his good buddy who committed these heinous crimes is the worst kind of criminal ever, in my book.

carnot| 11.12.11 @ 5:09PM

worse than an administration that funnels guns that end up in a homicide of an American?

Denver Todd| 11.11.11 @ 9:20AM

Durant didn't go to authorities, but McQuerry did. Far from a saint, Durant was the worst sort of evil, not reporting a crime because he was afraid for his job.

Kingofthenet| 11.11.11 @ 9:33AM

Penn State's newest Mascot:

http://i.imgur.com/IkIRI.jpg

Not a Penn State fan| 11.11.11 @ 9:34AM

Jim Durant was no hero. A hero would have steped in and stopped the act. Instead he stood by and did NOTHING to help. He didn't report it to the campus or to anyone outside the school. In PA you can use dealy force if needed to stop a rape. If you report it to the school and they do nothing then take it to the media. You don't just walk by and then complain to your co-workers.

Jabber3| 11.11.11 @ 9:35AM

You're fired Paterno! You're fired McQueary! What? McQueary is not fired? Why? Mike witnessed a 10 year old boy being violated in the showers of the Penn State athletic facility by Sandusky and then didn't reveal the details to Paterno (according to Paterno's testimony to a grand jury) but then McQueary continued to associate with Sandusky in future coaching duties and also participated in and donated to charitable events conducted by Sandusky to raise money for Sandusky's boys club. What's wrong with this picture when a university won't take even the most reasonable redress available and fire this coach? It tells you the level of corruption that exists at Penn State University. They have forever soiled thier reputation. Happy Valley how little we knew ye.

Chalkdust| 11.11.11 @ 12:26PM

Dead-bang on Jabber3.

calvin | 11.11.11 @ 9:58AM

What a mess.
I kept waking up last night feeling so sad for Coach Paterno. I worry that this will affect his health and carry him away before the self moralizing sports commentators (who would have ever put that oxymoron together?) sense the waxing tide of sentiment and respect coming back in to refloat Joe's reputation. I really pray that he should live long enough to once again "see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."
This is a case of the left needing to bring down a great man in order to lift themselves up. I wonder what calumny they will think up next.
Crying shame. Shame on the media. Shame on the c.s. PSU president.

missbosslady| 11.11.11 @ 11:09AM

Calvin,

I'll keep waking up tonight feeling sad if you tell me that your post is not toungue-in-cheek.

Feeling badly for Paterno becuase he never called the police to have this vile piece of excrement arrested for assulating little boys is hard for me to fathom.

Paterno ruined himself, all by himself. Joe Pa had the opportunity to stand righteously and he chose not. He deserves to slide into the dust bin of history. Paterno came to a fork in the road and chose his path and in so doing revealed himself to be a much lesser man Part of Paterno's legacy was to be that he wasn't just a coach, but a mentor, shaping young men. Sadly, this story belies that and reveals that Paterno was in it for Paterno.

One evil act can undue a life.

Kingofthenet| 11.11.11 @ 12:11PM

Yup except for that whole WWII thing, Hitler wasen't that bad.

calvin | 11.11.11 @ 4:55PM

MissBL;
I just read your earlier posts. You sound like a regular Charles Bronson.
Your schadenfreude is showing.
Here's your stone.

missbosslady| 11.11.11 @ 6:53PM

calvin,

Schadenfreude? Hardly.

Yours is a weak retort, but one I've heard before from several less than courageous men.

carnot| 11.13.11 @ 7:35AM

You may be right. but you don't know the GD facts of the situation...now do you? and this speaks more about you than it does Paterno.

Welcome to Cain-world everyone. Just depends on who you want to destroy in advance of formal justice and airing of verified evidence.

Chalkdust| 11.11.11 @ 10:15AM

Mr. Homnick......You are as mistaken here as you possibly can be. There is NO heros (from the pedophiles to the wretched car burners) at Penn State, just another coven of liberals acting as nothing happened. Mr. Durant, bless his heart, is a simple man who's heart is in the right place, but without the mental acuity to act. Which is the exact reverse of the villains at the liberal bastion of Penn State. Can you imagine what must be taught at Penn State in the name of ethics, when a gaggle of young receptors, who's parents have paid good money for a so-called education. Turn to auto burning when faced with a horrific choice....the rape of young boys or the firing of a pedophile by omission. I don't think they make a flame thrower big enough to turn directly on Penn State which would help erase the memory in our collective minds.
As an aside, I don't think this is the last we'll hear about the horrific acts at Buggery University.

GatoRay57| 11.11.11 @ 1:18PM

Who knew the letters really stood for Pedophile Scumbags U.?

A. Acronyms| 11.12.11 @ 1:39AM

GatoRay:

Correction --

PSU = Pedophile Scum United

BD| 11.11.11 @ 10:38AM

Are you serious? The real hero of Penn State? He and his fellow janitors reported nothing but to themselves. This is the most poorly informed piece of trash I have ever read on Spectator.

buckeyeman| 11.11.11 @ 11:29AM

amen

Mike| 11.11.11 @ 11:31AM

Really Mr Homnick. The man who did essential the same thing as fired Coach Paterno is the hero? Wgat are thinking?

In my world the hero of this situation would be the guy who was was found not guilty at his trial after witnessing the rape and beating the perp nearly to death.

Where do we find these people?

Mike Johnston
SFC USA (RET)

Indy| 11.11.11 @ 12:10PM

One young man speaking at Penn State, it is a short video but worth the visit to hear him speak.

“It’s fine if you want to follow blindly — to have blind loyalty, but listen, one person does not represent this university. Joe Paterno does not represent this university,” he says.

He talks about holding the university accountable, have hope, there are still many in our youth who can stand up for what is right we don't get to see enough examples of this but students like these must be encouraged to continue to speak out.

http://www.theblaze.com/storie.....e-paterno/

gearjammer| 11.11.11 @ 12:56PM

Academia has in many ways separated itself from the rest of America. They handle many issues internally, often involving sexual matters. They in essence have their own government within our nation and use many legal strategies and constitutional sophistry to in essence be above the law. Actually, OWS is similiar to them in many ways. By the way , go to any great university and have the faculty take a lie detector test as they answer the question-" what is a sex crime?"

Confused| 11.11.11 @ 1:46PM

Jim Durant? There is no reference to a Jim Durant in the linked grand jury report. Reference is made to a Jim Calhoun.

Bob Grant| 11.11.11 @ 2:02PM

Eh...You are correct. I just went with it keep the thread going.

Kingofthenet| 11.11.11 @ 2:26PM

Maybe the author is confusing this guy with Jimmy Durante?

Crawler| 11.11.11 @ 2:17PM

I dunno...for Mr. Durant to have been in the Korean War, he's probably around 80 years-old; and the fact he was working as a part-time janitor tells me a lot, too.

My father was a Korean War veteran who never uttered one word to me, my siblings or my mother about his experiences in that war.

But if a Korean War combat veteran gives sworn testament to a Grand Jury that the worst thing he ever saw in his life was this low-life, despicable, scumbag ex-coach in the locker room with a young boy, well, I'm taking Mr. Durant for his word.

Exclude me from critiquing Mr. Durant for what he may or may not have done, for I have never walked in his shoes...

The Big Kahuna| 11.11.11 @ 4:57PM

The real coward in all this is the 28 year old graduate assistant who witnessed the child being criminaly assualted and did nothing but call his daddy and then tell Coach Paterno (we still dont know what) . In my opinion McQueary should have pounded the pedophile into a nice fine pudding and then call his daddy and tell him what he had done. Then he should of called the police. All that is necessary for Evil to triumph is for good men todo nothing. To me calling your daddy and tell him that an adult pedophile is attacking a young child and asking what he should do is doing nothing.

rn| 11.12.11 @ 1:02AM

Correct, Big K. Makes me wonder what kind of still zit faced puberty punk this 28 year old? was/is -- in his own mind at the time.

What good is a 6'4" body if you aren't going to use it? Didn't this guy ever have to demolish a tackling dummy? Didn't he ever have to do raging bull drills?

He can't fell Sandusky with a purposeful, forceful arm chop and then grab the boy and swiftly move the boy to safety?

A 28 year old in our society needs to call daddy over something like this to know what to do?

Yes, we have currently those who are adolescents until about, what, age 42 or 43 now? That is what America has and is raising.

Penn State and all those associated with it need to be hanging heads in pure shame over a 28 year old alum male who was still light years away from manhood.

A lot of maturation during those 4 years of undergrad rigor (yes, heavy, heavy sarcasm)

Isn't the tripe we hear: "Football develops rigor, toughness, manliness. Football makes you tough, boys into men!!!"

What a crock.

Mark Jeffery Koch| 11.11.11 @ 5:39PM

Joe Paterno, McCleary, and the athletic director should all be sued for depraved indifference. To constitute depraved indifference, the defendant's conduct must be so wanton, so deficient in a moral sense of concern, so lacking in regard for the life or lives of others, and so blameworthy as to warrant the same criminal liability as that which the law imposes upon a person who intentionally causes a crime. Depraved indifference focuses on the risk created by the defendant’s conduct, not the injuries actually resulting.

Chalkdust| 11.11.11 @ 6:13PM

Never fear, the settlements at the conclusion of the civil trials will be many and contain lots of zeros.

rendite| 11.12.11 @ 9:58AM

Whatever Joe Paterno earned and saved up in earnings over all these years will now go A. to his very expensive defense legal team, and B. to the inevitable monetary losses in sucessful litigation against him/awards to the children molested (and their lawyer teams).

Good.

Unless there is some sliver of innocence here that does not seem to be forthcoming, the old egotistical coach (he was still coaching not becausee he really can or should but to enter the record books in many different categories) deserves to die a penniless wretch.

I just don't see how anyone can defend him.

These former players? (A note the the students: At 20 or 21....with no real contact, daily interaction, what do you really know about a famous person that happens to work on the same mega-sized campus? Let's face it: You don't know that person at all)

By the way, lawyers just suck. They just do. They are scum. Throw most of them in the Gloria Allred category; they are all the same. The proof? Joe Paterno is now already so lawyered up with top names!

In what profession do or can respectable professionals drop all that they are doing and fly 2,000 miles across the country to embed themselves in a compliated, murky, years-long scandal?

These lawyers will now make Joe P.'s case ALL that they are doing? Can you do this in your profession? How could you in good conscience? You wouldn't. But these lawyers can and do because they let money guide any and all decisions.

Within 72 hours, Paterno has been lawyered up in a way that is akin to adding 5 extra feet of armor plating on an Abrams tank.

Kingofthenet| 11.11.11 @ 5:51PM

Did anyone see that Statue and that creepy mural of Joe? It's like he is Kim Jong Il or something. What man let's a statue of himself get erected while he is still working? Very Narcissistic

Tony in Central PA| 11.11.11 @ 6:41PM

I am a PSU alum ( B.S. 1983 ) and grew up in nearby Boalsburg. Dad worked for PSU until 1992. My Dad and Mom still live in Boalsburg.

The incident with Mr. Durant occurred in 2000. I didn't see anything about the police being notified in connection with this incident in the AG presentation. I'm not blaming Mr. Durant for the police not being notified, but somebody should have.
I have been preoccupied with sifting through all of the available information for this awful tragedy and I can say with confidence that the number of adults who could have, but failed to stop this monster over a long period of time is nothing less than shocking. From the University President to the AD, Vice President of finance, at least one assistant coach and Joe himself. Add to that an attorney representing both PSU and Sandusky's charity, the University police, who conducted two lengthy investigations in 1998 that my attorney wife informed me appeared to contain enough evidence for an indictment, to the local DA who never pursued an indictment at that time. Add to the list current PA governor Tom Corbett who dropped his pursuit of the investigation to apparently focus his time and effort on his gubenatorial campaign and is now in damage control mode.
Its a long list and getting longer. Not all are equally culpable. Some were closer and had more direct knowledge. I expect more horrific revelations now that an additional nine possible victims have come forward. How could somthing like this have ever happened ?

Martin Treptow| 11.11.11 @ 6:57PM

This article is so beneath Jay Homnick as to make me think some moral-equivocating Liberal hacked his computer and posted this drivel. Mr. Durant was badly shaken by what he witnessed, and nothing more.
As far as Joe Paterno goes, the irony of the story for him is that he should have retired years ago, long having relegated the day to gameday operations of the football team to his staff. He stayed on to: A) Outlast Bobby Bowden so that he could claim the title of the winningest major college football coach (which he did when Coach Bowden, an actual righteous man and devout lover of The Lord was ousted at Florida State in 2009) and then, B) Since that took longer than he figured it would, he decided to stick around long enough to claim the title of all-time winningest college coach, again surpassing a truly great man in Eddie Robinson of Grambling University (which Paterno accomplished a couple weeks' ago) . It was Joe's manic pursuit of these two accolades that caused him to overstay his welcome and find himself smack-dab in the middle of the disgusting events of the last week at Happy Valley. If he had retired eight or nine years ago, as he was asked to (and refused) he could at least have looked upon this situation as the former Head Coach of Penn State University. Now, he is in the crosshairs, and his legacy is sullied and soiled, and he exits, not with a glorious send-off, but under a cloud of ignomy and suspicion.

And it is only just beginning... (mark my words)

By the way, the ousted University President, Graham Spanier, was previously the Chancellor of my Alma Mater, The University of Nebraska (whose football team is, ironically, playing Penn State at Happy Valley at noon tomorrow). I was a student when he was at Nebraska. He is a classic Liberal, a twerp, and a squirrel. Apparently he still is...

Cheers!

Clint| 11.11.11 @ 11:18PM

JoePa refused to hand over the head coaching job to the man, everyone thought was set to succeed him , defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Instead, JoePa gave Sandusky his walking papers, in 1999.

Sandusky had emeritus professor rights after he was let go and access to sports facilities, but was no longer associated with JoePs's staff.

The Center County District Attorney Ray Gricar ,who failed to prosecute Sandusky in 1998, has been mysteriously missing and just legally pronounced dead , since he disappeared in 2005 after destroying his computer hard drive.

Tina B| 11.11.11 @ 7:03PM

Sex sells, haven't you heard?

Tina B| 11.11.11 @ 7:07PM

Bobby, ah Bobby. His only crime was his team was in losing mode his last few years. No biggie, Bobby, no damage.

Unlike Papa Joe, big damage, lifetime damage, and for how many boys? We may never know.

Nate| 11.11.11 @ 7:18PM

Did Homnick read the same GJ report I did? Jim "Durant" (as others have noted, his real name is Jim Calhoun) may be a hero for his service in Korea, but his response to this unthinkable crime was far from heroic. As many others have said, he never intervened or filed a report of any kind! I would describe his revulsion as "appropriate," but heroic? Pff.

So in order to be a hero, all you gotta do is witness a heinous crime and feel disgust--you don't actually have to DO anything!

Homnick, this is about as lazy as it gets.

Chef Schanuzer| 11.11.11 @ 8:02PM

What a pointless article. There are no heroes here. Homnick's assertion is dumb, where are the editors?

POST American| 11.11.11 @ 9:52PM

-----Great piece.

And now, onto the INDECENT NON-EXPOSURE
of the Globalist cover-up of the FUKISHIMA world depop op.

--------Heading toward its 10th month.

NOT A WORD about it from A.S..

----------------------NOT A WORD----------------------

Kingofthenet| 11.11.11 @ 10:24PM

----RADIATION ----In my Tuna Fish ---- or
---- is it the Mercury that melts my brain-----
+++ Govt. Price Controls+++
----Aluminum Foil 8 Fiat, or less than a----
+++ 1/4 Oz Troy Silver+++
----+- Can't even subsist on canned Veggies---+-
----- GM Crops, see my thoughts====
-=-=-=That is all-=-=-

Terrible Ted| 11.12.11 @ 12:04AM

The PSU football team should be disbanded for this. Maybe the whole University to kill the beast.

ralston| 11.12.11 @ 12:50AM

All I can conclude is that the powers that be at American Spectator decreed that they too needed a story at the end of this week on Penn State. Jay Homnick got the assignment. Jay Homnick so rushed his distracted speed reading of prep materials for his 10 paragraph article that he --

miserably flubbed. This article from Homnick is abysmal. And, yes, that's being polite.

You got some __________ journalism goin on here.

I have no idea how anyone (based on the info in the article -- with no link for the reader to see the available online information) can find this janitor praiseworthy.

His statement about Korea sounds and smells like horse manure.

Get your act together, Homnick.

Nate| 11.13.11 @ 8:32AM

I think you hit the nail on the head--such a sloppy attempt at a "the REAL heroes are our veterans, like this guy..." human-interest puff-piece. Probably thrown together in like 10 minutes.

What nobody is asking| 11.12.11 @ 1:24AM

Someone needs to explain the showering.

The simple questions I immediately asked when first hearing some details on this -- When do adults ever shower with kids? Even in a family, bathing together stops like almost right away. If it's done, mom is doing the aiding/supervising -- but this is still with very young kids AT HOME.

American kids at 10 - 12 aren't interested in showers. Boys certainly not. The idea of showering at an athletic facility? Heck no. They drive home a bit grubby perhaps. And if any cleaning takes place, well, it might be done once home.

Most kids try to avoid this at home as well.

I've never coached footbal but several other sports and have coached this pre-teen age range. Even if showers were available (very rare), they were never used.

The kids weren't interested and didn't frankly need to be. They don't get stinky like one does once older. The parents weren't interested in this and that is how it should be. As stated, if cleaning was an issue, then it would and could wait until the kid/family got home.

Even if a shower was used for kids (practically unthinkable) NO PERSON/ADULT IS GOING ANYWERE NEAR THAT SHOWER WHILE YOUTH ARE INSIDE.

Alarm bells need to be screaming in ALL HEADS when one hears of kids showering or even entering a shower -- at this age, away from home.

I think that there have to be a lot of parents and guardians that should have some answering to do. Only one mother who was concerned when noting her son's wet hair? The others are blind? The others don't smell shampoo on their kid or soap and ask, "How'd you get so clean, Bobby?"

All adults/parents should have been asking: "Why are the boys showering at all or even just entering a shower?"

This is beyond belief.

Lizard King| 11.12.11 @ 5:57AM

Believe it, man/boy "love" is a banally ancient, culturally inclusive practice. Sexual access to women has been a "hit or miss" proposition through antiquity for men because of cultural constraints or physical/proximity realities. It may offend your sensibilities, however that has more to do with feminist driven demonization regarding genuine male sexuality and how women think males sholud direct their virility. Wake up buddy, it's a wide world out there, like it or not!

What Nobody is Asking| 11.12.11 @ 10:13AM

Lizard K., sorry, but you aren't a good reader.

Yes, of course there are adult sexual predators on children. That is sadly very obvious and these perverts are in every big city and state around the globe. That is not what I ask above.

I ask: In what American youth sports do we ever hear of the youth showering after practices or games -- showering at the practice field or game field? Youth, in this case, under the ages of 14.

I've never seen regular post-practice or post-game showering done by youth this young age anywhere.

Also: What coach ever needs to shower after a practice? A coach might be a bit hot and sticky but it is not like the coach is sprinting, running, doing all the intense drills that the kids did during the practice.

Coaches, after practice is over, put everything away, get in their cars, drive home. The shower, if needed, is at home. Not at the practice or game facility.

POST American| 11.12.11 @ 1:31AM

-----------------NOT A WORD. . .

Pedro| 11.12.11 @ 6:35AM

Here's a WORD. With any luck, depop op, FUKISHIMA or otherwise might gather up POST American, our unfotunately, missed abortion pal!

Legarto Rey| 11.12.11 @ 5:39AM

It all say something about the VALUE of boys/men in feminist America. Had the victims been girls/women, methinks a different response. What's a little serial, homosexual, pedagogic buggery amongst friends, so long as Title IX isn't violated and the Federal booty keeps a comin'. Interesting how Title IX makes mistreatment of girls/women on campus a Federal issue, however if boys/men are buggered it's an "internal" matter.

Legarto Rey| 11.12.11 @ 6:20AM

In the broad sweep of human history, with all its atrocities, base and glorious, children, especially boys, have been "exposed" to SO MUCH WORSE and have persevered and prospered. This sad tale barely rates mention. Not to advocate for pedophilic buggery, homo or hetero, but PLEASE , what kind of blinders do you people sport??

alert - alert - alert| 11.12.11 @ 10:28AM

Alert, Lizard King and Legarto Rey are one in the same. Same IP-PC. And, viewing the content of his posts, he is a sexual deviant. A pedophile? A wannabe p.? Put on the watch list.

Shame we cannot - today - sick the IT hounds onto LR's PC hard drive. What might we find, LR?

LR| 11.12.11 @ 2:25PM

Not a pederist, not gay and surely not a deviant of any sort. Just ruthlessly pragmatic and acutely aware that modern era "white knights", so-cons and feminist sympathizers are willfully ignorant when confronted with the overt misandry that permeates our culture. Men/boys(especially white) have nil value in our culture and how we treat them in deference to feminist shrews and their anti-male agenda is obvious and sad. Bill Bennett suggests our young men "man up". Indeed, so they can lead lives of indentured servitude to women who don't respect them and a culture that is terrified at the prospect of MGTOW. Wake up, triple alert, just because I'm a realist and an MRA doesn't mean I'm a child molester!

beebop2| 11.12.11 @ 6:24AM

How much taxpayer money goes to cess pools like the Penn State atheletic department? They clearly don't need it. Defund college programs and watch tuition slide.

Clint| 11.12.11 @ 8:56AM

Penn State will work through this sex scandal and do what is needed to correct the situation and stop this sex abuse.
Next, it's time to attack" The Elephant In The Middle Of The Room ", the ongoing sex abuse in The American Public School System.

Kingofthenet| 11.12.11 @ 9:29AM

I have been trying to wrap my head around this story since it came out, the ONLY things that makes sense in having so many people behave like this is either:
a. It's a massive coverup to protect the football franchise OR
more likely,
b. Joe and Co. didn't see anything PERSONALLY and found it unbelievable that Mike McQueary would have witnessed something so heinous and NOT done something immediately. Combine that with Joe and Companies most likely experience with 'adult' rape, namely I am SURE some of his players have at one time or another been accused of 'date raping' some girlfriends, that led nowhere and were more the product of drinking and hurt feelings of being dumped. That Joe felt this could be a younger guys desire to rid the team of a competitor for a choice coaching position.

Oldefarte| 11.12.11 @ 11:50AM

This represents the fact that the decent individuals in life are sadly far outnumbered by the opposite, and that this is life as we all now know it to be. There is now very little religious church attendance, and what so there is is dwindling rapidly. This is all due to the encouragement/promotion of the far left liberal radicals that have conquered the Democratic Party and their supporters. The current occupier of the white house is the prime example of same, and we all have no one but ourselves to blame for this since we allowed his election to occur on 11/4/08. WAKE UP, AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!

Oldefarte| 11.12.11 @ 11:50AM

This represents the fact that the decent individuals in life are sadly far outnumbered by the opposite, and that this is life as we all now know it to be. There is now very little religious church attendance, and what so there is is dwindling rapidly. This is all due to the encouragement/promotion of the far left liberal radicals that have conquered the Democratic Party and their supporters. The current occupier of the white house is the prime example of same, and we all have no one but ourselves to blame for this since we allowed his election to occur on 11/4/08. WAKE UP, AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!

Oldefarte| 11.12.11 @ 11:50AM

This represents the fact that the decent individuals in life are sadly far outnumbered by the opposite, and that this is life as we all now know it to be. There is now very little religious church attendance, and what so there is is dwindling rapidly. This is all due to the encouragement/promotion of the far left liberal radicals that have conquered the Democratic Party and their supporters. The current occupier of the white house is the prime example of same, and we all have no one but ourselves to blame for this since we allowed his election to occur on 11/4/08. WAKE UP, AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!

Oldefarte| 11.12.11 @ 1:52PM

PS: There are no heroes in this situation, since it occurred in 1998[?] and is just now coming into daylight. Similar occurrances [mostly female students raped and same never leaving the property boundaries of the universities] can be uncovered on each/every university compus' rug of hidden criminality among mostly their athletic communities due to the money involved. It is simply a case of PYA, and no doubt Penn State will unable to protect theirs legally speaking when this finally shakes out. Our Washington DC government is yet another example of such occurrances being swept under the rug. The outrageous pointing fingers at various individuals for blame is ludicrous, since EVERYONE INVOLVED is partially at fault. To attempt to discover an innocent party is beyond sanity!!!!!!!!

Farmer| 11.12.11 @ 1:03PM

Pathetic writing...Jim Who?...and the author claimed to read the report. An eyewiness who did not report a crime is not a hero and anyone who would write an article claiming that he was is a clueless ass.

TURK| 11.12.11 @ 1:49PM

Jay

You and I once disagreed over Robert E. Lee. My comments in re your article were such that you honored me with a personal e-mail in response. As I recall we agreed to disagree. The result , however, was that I followed your writings and enjoyed each for their quality and perspicacity covering a wide range of subjects.

Your Penn State piece is your best. Thank you.

TURK| 11.12.11 @ 2:46PM

Jay

The Penn State matter has been convoluted---hard to fathom. After reading the preceeding comments I have to agree with many. The witness who cried and did nothing is no hero.

A follow up article by you would be helpful.

somnolence| 11.12.11 @ 11:39PM

Too bad Sandusky didn't incur multiple fractures of the nose so severe as to be irreparable from the janitor who witnessed this. I can assure you I would have risked being jailed on assault charges if I witnessed something similar anyplace, and I would have used any potential weapon besides my fist that was available(mop, bucket, shovel ) to make my point known. I seldom attend church, have been married to the same woman for 30 years, and we have no children, as we practiced conscientious birth control in our fertile years. God can have mercy on Sandusky's soul. I, for one, can't.

Joyce Nigh| 11.13.11 @ 11:02AM

I can understand your relief to find a person who experienced an appropriate emotional reaction to the horrors he witnessed, particularly after so many examples of people rationalizing their failures to act properly.
But the fact that a person has an appropriate emotional reaction does not in and of itself make him a hero. Jim Durant is obviously a decent human being, but he is not a hero. A hero is someone who is willing to do the right thing even if it means the loss of his job. Calling this man a hero is a disservice to the heroes throughout history who were willing to lose what was dear to them, even their lives, in support of justice and what is right.

amitabha| 11.13.11 @ 1:32PM

Fight, flight and freeze are automatic sympathetic nervous responses to danger. The janitor and McGreary were reportedly sickened and physically reacting to the shock of what they witnessed. But obviously the danger the perceived to themselves over rode the immediate danger to the defenseless little boy
s.
They fled and sought to protect themselves first.(their jobs were at risk ) Heroes are those among us who can make the split second decisions inspite of the fight or flight mechanisms power and take immediate action and place another's well being above our
own. We would all hope to find ourselves in the hero category faced with a similar scenario. But the visceral response can shut down the mind, morality and judgment ..at least temporarily and the moment to save the victim has passed. I have had a few experiences where my death was imminent. The release of adrenalin rendered my body almost uncontrollable. That was a shock to me. In the first instance I was able through sheer will to live to regain enough control of my body to safely land the plane I had almost crashed. In the second I was able to rescue a pet at risk of my own drowning in a flash flood. Unless you have experienced sudden shock you don't know how you will respond. I find the systemic pre meditated cover ups more egregious than the failure of the witnesses to act to stop the child rapes.the witnesses were no doubt shocked and they were cowards instead
Of heroesand will carry the shame of knowing that about themselves to their graves
worse than the two witnesses. The must

Noreen| 11.14.11 @ 1:00AM

First, the janitor who witnessed this was not Jim Durant, but Jim Calhoun according to the transcript. And what makes him a hero? He didn't report what he saw to any law enforcement agency....in my opinion, he dropped the ball and enabled this monster to abuse more children for many years. Just as guilty as McQueary for not reporting this. How did he sleep at night?

wedding dresses | 11.14.11 @ 3:06AM

We would all hope to find ourselves in the hero category faced with a similar scenario. But the visceral response can shut down the mind, morality and judgment ..at least temporarily and the moment to save the victim has passed. I have had a few experiences where my death was imminent. The release of adrenalin rendered my body almost uncontrollable. That was a shock to me. In the first instance I was able through sheer will to live to regain enough control of my body to safely land the plane I had almost crashed. In the second I was able to rescue a pet at risk of my own drowning in a flash flood. Unless you have experienced sudden shock you don't know how you will respond. I find the systemic pre meditated cover ups more egregious than the failure of the witnesses to act to stop the child rapes.the witnesses were no doubt shocked and they were cowards instead

Tina B| 11.14.11 @ 7:57AM

I am baffled by the fact that this is still the only article on this matter at TAS.

If it turns out that (absolute worst case scenario) Sandusky was a pimp as well as a pederast, and there was a network in Pennsylvania of rich pedophiles using these poor boys, covered up by a now disappeared DA, and the issue is still being whitewashed, it needs to be told.

Like Jay Hominick, I finished reading the Grand Jury report and was relieved to read about the reaction of Jim Calhoun as he wept and almost had a coronary. His reaction in the beginning was what I was left with. His tears, his pain and his shock. I admit, like Jay, I did not take the thought one step further.

Why didn't he run in and stop the act? Once I began reading this report I looked for someone to react this way and all I read was one janitor wept and nearly convulsed. Then I pictured his colleagues talking him out of reporting it further, the cost to his livlihood and so on. And then. . . . he did nothing.

Jay and I were both wrong to see something good about his feeling bad. The world does not function on feelings but on actions. Feelings and emotions cannot be trusted, but right and wrong are not negotiable. Like when the rest of the world looked the other way when shown pictures of the concentration camps. I am sure people felt bad, but many did nothing.

The two eyewitnesses to the rapes were the ones who should have gone screaming to the police. If it turns out that there was an underground pedophile network functioning with some of Sandusky's "young boys", there should be hell to pay for everyone who looked away. Sad to say that investigation will probably be aborted too.

I feel a fool for admiring Jim Calhoun at first, and wonder if his decision ate at him for so long he lost his mind. Now he can't help, even if he wanted to. Just speculating here. Wouldn't that be sad. IF he could have saved his own sanity, along with we'll never know how many boys and their sexuality, that would be another irony in the situation. Just speculating. And if Paterno can maintains his sanity, after allowing all this on his watch, it will be proof of something else. His heart was not where it should have been and never was. No more Papa, just Joe the coward.

bravodelta| 11.14.11 @ 9:58AM

I am not sure how any of these guys involved can live with their inaction.

As for the writings of Jay, I have no intention of reading them any longer. He has shown his true colors and they are lacking in my opinion. I will not waste more time on reading his comments and thoughts on any subject. I hope others feel the same way.

As for TAS, the last several months have seen a decline in the quality of articles. I don't know what has led to this but it may be time to move on to other sources. TAS has been a valuable source of information but if articles like this one continue, there is no reason to support it.

threeleafclover| 11.14.11 @ 10:54AM

Chef Schanuzer asks, "Where are the editors?" there are no editors for the flow of sewage this site has become.

Recall the saying in early computer days, " Garbage in, garbage out."? Well, it became the watchword. The creed.

All you have to do is look at the "bios" of some of the contributors. If the resume says "Conservative", nothing else matters.

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